Orpheus Read Online Free PDF Page B

while he dealt with the immediate threats, followed suit. In the span of a few seconds the theater had gone from out of control to completely silent, the faint wisps of gunsmoke providing the only movement. Tim felt his chest rising and falling with rapid, nearly panicked breaths, and he had to work to slow them down to normal.
    Everything that had been dead once was dead again, this time for good.
    Tim looked at Orpheus, who was replacing the rounds in his magazine. “Not bad. Grab your weapon and let's move.” That was all he said; he and Mutt started laughing about something while they searched the bodies. Tim found his pistol and replaced his own rounds, as well.
    Sam said, “Nice move. Don't ever drop your weapon, though. We may not always be around to have your back.”
    Tim nodded.
    “Search time, bait,” Fish said. “Quick and dirty.”
    They all started going through pockets and purses.
    “What am I supposed to be looking for?”
    “Anything useful. Food, medications, cameras, and cell phones with cameras. Grab every one of those. Memory cards will do, too.”
    “Why those?”
    “Boss's orders,” Sam said, looking in Orpheus' direction.
    “Good enough.” They spent the next five minutes grabbing what they could. Tim's final tally: 2 cell phones, a digital camera, a keychain multi-tool, a can of pepper spray, three packs of gum, a roll of breath mints, and a condom.
    “Nice haul,” Fish teased. “C'mon bait, time to play pack mule. Turn around.” Tim did so and Fish unzipped the compartment that had been sewn into the back of his jumpsuit. “Everybody, load up.” When they were done,Tim was lugging an extra five pounds, and Fish was passing out gum.
    They formed up, Tim right in the middle, next to Orpheus, who asked, “How do you feel?”
    “I'm okay. A little freaked out, but okay.”
    “Good. I had to know if you could handle the real thing.”
    “And?”
    Orpheus deadpanned. “You're still here.”
    “The worst part was how quiet they were. They didn't make a sound.”
    “Everyone says the same thing the first time. I know I did. I expected moaning and screaming and shit like that, too. But they're dead, bait.” Fish playfully poked Tim in the forehead. “They got no air in their lungs.”
    Tim mentally slapped himself for missing something so obvious.
    “That was a pretty sweet move you pulled, except I would've shot that fucker in the air like skeet.”
    “I bet you would have, Fish. I guess I was too busy trying not to shit myself.”
     
    * * *
     
    Their chosen landing site was no accident; it was one of the few places on the island that could accommodate a landing and takeoff, and it was as close to an inert “reap zone” that they could get. They stayed in the shadows as much as possible, scouting each area with the night vision before they continued. They moved at a plodding pace, but it was a lot better than rushing into something that they couldn't rush out of. Along the way, Tim watched his mates as much as he watched his surroundings. He emulated their movements, and he tried to learn to read their body language to lessen the need for speech or even hand signals.
    In this place, the quieter, the better.
    The silence was almost absolute, save for the occasional flutter of bat wings or chirping of an insect. Those were the times when Tim relaxed a little bit, because he knew that where zombies were, animals weren't, and vice versa. When the silence descended again, so did the tension. If the other four felt the same way, they didn't show it, so Tim tried not to, either.
    They must have sneaked by dozens of zombies (and hundreds of corpses), almost without incident. There was a moment when they came upon a bottleneck of cars that almost completely blocked the street. Zombies were plugging the only two gaps large enough to accommodate a human, but Mutt resorted to the old “throw a bottle and watch them chase the noise” trick to move them.
    After that, there was smooth